From Sweet To Elite!

Anyone who roots for the Springstead Eagles, don't make plans for Saturday night. The Eagles have officially soared to heights never reached before: the Class 4A, Region II final.

Springstead will host Ocala-West Port at 7 p.m. Saturday, thanks to Tuesday night's 72-49 semifinal victory over Hudson.

The ninth-ranked Eagles (29-0) downed the District 8 rival Cobras (20-9) for the fourth time in as many meetings this season and avenged last year's upset loss in the district semifinals.

"It's a big game," Springstead forward Addison O'Neil said. "They knocked us off last year, so we sent them home this year."

Playoff atmosphere

The meaning of this game reflected in the intensity of the crowd, which packed both sets of bleachers on each side of the gym, with fans of both teams creating a raucous playoff atmosphere.

Perhaps the least likely member of Springstead's star-studded starting lineup made the biggest difference in the opening half.

Junior guard Nick Steadman scored seven points in the first quarter, helping the Eagles weather some early hot shooting by the Cobras.

At 5:35 of the second quarter, Steadman, generously listed at 5-foot-9, snagged an offensive rebound and hit a fadeaway jumper for Springstead's first double-digit lead, 23-13.

The Eagles went in front by as many as 16 in the first half before settling for a 35-27 halftime advantage following a buzzer-beating three-pointer by Hudson's Chris Russo.

Jarrod Branco's three with 1:24 left in the third made it a four-point game, 45-41. Springstead settled for a 49-43 lead on Valentine's jumper off a crossover just before the end of the quarter.

The Eagles pushed it back to 13, 58-45, on Valentine's second driving lay-up with 4:38 to go, resulting in a Cobra timeout. Springstead continued to build the lead from there.

"We elevated the intensity," Valentine said. "Go hard or go home. There's no other option."

The senior guard had seven points in the fourth quarter after posting eight in the third, giving him a game-high 21 to go along with 12 rebounds.

"Great finishes around the basket in traffic," Springstead Head Coach Pat Kelly said of Valentine. "He was relentless to the basket. They couldn't keep him out of there."

Isaiah Mason finished with 18 points, seven rebounds and three steals, but most impressive and perhaps important were his five blocked shots.

Meanwhile, the sometimes overlooked O'Neil made his presence felt for the second game in a row, posting a double-double with 10 points and 13 boards. He also had four steals and three assists.

"I just wanted to get rebounds tonight," O'Neil said. "Coach said I didn't get enough rebounds last time. He told me to do something, so I wanted to do it to the best of my ability."

Branco led Hudson with 21 points and seven rebounds, but Russo, the hero of Tuesday's quarterfinal win at Groveland-South Lake, had just eight points, all in the first half.

The Eagles out-rebounded the Cobras, 44-21, and Hudson Head Coach Jason Vetter pointed to Springstead's work on the offensive glass as the key difference.

"They're just better," Vetter said. "When you lose four times to somebody, they're just better. We threw everything we possibly can at them.

"...Jarrod had a great third quarter, Chris had a great second quarter to get us back in it. We were just hanging around and hanging around.

"I think a big part of it was the first four minutes of the fourth quarter where Dante got two straight offensive rebounds for scores, Domnique (Roberson) gets an offensive rebound and scores; too many weapons for us to cover."

Thus far no one has figured out how to deal with these Eagles, who set a new school record for wins. They now stand just one victory away from reaching the Final Four in Lakeland.

"Our kids showed tremendous heart," Kelly said. "Whenever they came at us, they (the Eagles) worked through it."

SPRINGSTEAD 72, HUDSON 49
Qtr. Scoring 1 2 3 4
Hudson 11 16 16 6 - 49
Springstead 15 20 14 23 - 72
Hudson (49): Jar. Branco 9 2-2 21, Santos 3 0-2 6, Brom 3 0-0 6, Jam. Branco 2 0-0 6, Russo 3 0-1 8, Livengood 1 0-0 2, Pryor 0, Beaudry 0, Nero 0, Sparkman 0. Totals 21 2-5 49.
Springstead (72): Roberson 4 1-2 9, O'Neil 4 2-2 10, Mason 7 3-3 18, Valentine 9 3-9 21, Steadman 4 2-3 10, Latimer 0 2-2 2, Noury 0 1-2 1, Inniss 0 1-2 1, Wild 0, Maragh 0. Totals 28 15-25 72.
Three-point field goals: HUD 5 (Jam. Branco 2, Russo 2, Jar. Branco); SPG 1 (Mason).
Total fouls: HUD 18; SPG 13.
Technical fouls: none.
Fouled out: Brom (HUD).
Records: Hudson (20-9), Springstead (29-0).

CLASS 4A, REGION II TOURNAMENT
02-19: Quarterfinals
Springstead 71, Kissimmee-Poinciana 57
Hudson 64, Groveland-South Lake 62
St. Augustine 62, Lecanto 54
Ocala-West Port 65, Ponte Vedra-Nease 58

02-24: Semifinals
Springstead 72, Hudson 49.
West Port 72, St. Augustine 59

02-28: Final
West Port at Springstead, 7 p.m.